(A) A Reinvestment Zone may only be designated in accordance with Tex. Property Tax Code, § 312.201, V.A.C.S., as amended.
(B) A Reinvestment Zone may only be designated by the City Council in an area within the boundaries of the city and that does not include an area outside the taxing jurisdiction of the city.
(C) An area may be designated as a Reinvestment Zone if the City Council, after a public hearing on the proposed designation, finds that the designation would contribute to the retention or expansion of primary employment within the city or would attract major investment into the Zone that would be a benefit to the property to be included in the Zone and would contribute to the economic development of the city.
(D) (1) The public hearing on the proposed Reinvestment Zone designation must be held prior to the findings and action of the City Council on the proposed designation. At this hearing, all interested persons are entitled to speak and present evidence for or against the designation. Not later than the seventh day before the date of the hearing, notice of the hearing must be:
(a) Published in a newspaper having general circulation in the city; and
(b) Delivered in writing to the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit that includes in its boundaries real property that is to be included in the proposed reinvestment zone.
(2) A notice made under division (b) above is presumed to be delivered when placed in the mail, postage paid and properly addressed to the appropriate presiding officer.
(3) A notice properly addressed and sent by registered or certified mail for which a return receipt is received by the sender is considered to have been delivered to the addressee. The public hearing must also be posted as an agenda item in accordance with Tex. Gov’t Code, Ch. 551 ("The Texas Open Meetings Act").
(E) If the City Council finds that designation of the area as a Reinvestment Zone is proper, such proposed designation shall be put to a vote of the City Council, and will pass if a majority of the members of the City Council in attendance vote to approve the designation.
(F) The order of the City Council designating the area as a Reinvestment Zone shall contain a sufficient description of the boundaries of the Zone.
(G) The designation of a Reinvestment Zone may be for a period of up to five years. No designation shall exceed five years, and a designation shall automatically expire five years after the date of the designation unless renewed by the City Council for subsequent periods not to exceed five years each. This provision does not affect the guidelines for length of abatements called out in § 35.25.
(H) Designation of an area as an Enterprise Zone under Tex. Gov’t Code, Ch. 2303, the Texas Enterprise Zone Act, constitutes designation of the area as a Reinvestment Zone without further hearing or other procedural requirements other than those set out in the Texas Enterprise Zone Act.
(I) The Tex. Gov’t Code, § 312.204(b), requires that tax abatement agreements made with the owners of property in a Reinvestment Zone must contain identical terms for the portion of the value of the property that is to be exempt and the duration of the exemption.
(Ord. 641, passed 11-20-2006; Am. Ord. 715, passed 4-18-2011)